Alone - A House of Hades Rewrite
by ForeverFansomer7
Summary: What if Percy fell into Tartarus alone? Will the remaining seven and Nico be able to close The Doors of Death and rescue their friend? What new powers will Percy discover and if he makes it out will he ever be the same? Slight Dark!Percy
1. Chapter 1

ANNABETH

The daughter of Athena smiled for the first time since she had gone on her solo quest to follow the Mark of Athena. She was still a bit dazed but she was alive and well and with her boyfriend again and that's all that mattered.

Percy unlaced his fingers from hers and pulled her into a hug. She breathed in his scent and her nostrils filled with the smell of the sea she had grown to love.

Percy placed a kiss on her forehead then pulled out of the hug. Annabeth noticed that around them the parking lot was falling apart.

"We should get the statue onto the ship and fast before the whole parking lot falls," Jason suggested.

"Frank my man," Leo started. "Can you fly me up to the ship so we can get this baby on board?" Leo nodded to the Parthenos.

Frank turned into a giant eagle and grabbed Leo in his talons. Frank flew to the ship with Leo whooping in the air.

Jason rapped his arms around Piper. "I'll be back for you guys." Jason lifted off into the air taking Piper with him, leaving Annabeth with Percy, Nico, and Hazel.

Percy took Annabeth's hand. "We should head for the ship."

The four demigods walked toward the Argo II hovering several feet above the ground with a rope ladder dangling down. Hazel reached it first and began to climb with Nico close behind. Annabeth went to take a step forward but started moving backwards instead.

Annabeth's feet were swept out from under her and she continued to be dragged back.

"Her ankle!" Hazel screamed from the ladder. "Cut the silk!"

Percy dove for Annabeth and grabbed onto her hand but they were both pulled towards a giant hole in the parking lot. Hazel screamed out for the others but no one could hear her over all of the chaos unfolding.

Nico stumbled towards them and Hazel was tangled in the ladder. Annabeth knew that neither of them would make it in time.

Annabeth let out a cry as she was pulled over the edge taking Percy along with her. She thought they were doomed but by some miracle Percy had managed to grab ahold of a ledge.

She could see his knuckles turning white from holding on so hard and sweat beading down his face.

Suddenly, Nico poked his head over the edge. He reached out his arm but he was way to high up to reach them.

"Percy," Annabeth said. "There's no way you can get both of us up there. You have to let go of me."

"No," Percy responded. She could see the determination in his eyes. "I'm not letting you fall."

Then something happened that Annabeth couldn't explain. Percy squeezed his eyes shut and with what seemed like inhuman strength, swung Annabeth up over his head and let her go.

For one terrifying moment Annabeth thought she was going to fall down into the pit but she hit solid ground. Somehow Percy had managed to throw her up fifteen feet to the surface.

How was that even possible? There was no way that he should've been able to do that especially with whatever heavy thing was on the end of the spider silk rapped around her ankle. Annabeth pulled her dagger out and quickly cut it lose before it could drag her back in.

She peered back over the edge and saw Percy still dangling there. "Percy!"

"I'll be there on the other side!" The son of Poseidon called up to her. "Promise me you'll be there."

Annabeth held back tears. "There has to be a way to save you!"

"Promise me!"

Annabeth let a few tears fall. "I promise."

Percy gave her one last lopsided grin before letting go.

"No!" Annabeth screamed as she watched her Seaweed Brain plummet down into the pit below.

Annabeth sank to her knees and her chest shook with uncontrollable sobs. The ground beneath her began to shake and several tons of asphalt continued to fall into the pit but she didn't care. How could she care about her own safety when her entire world had fallen into Greek Hell?

No, worse than Hell, Annabeth thought miserably. Hades was the Greek version of Hell. Tartarus was even worse.

"Annabeth," Nico said with an unreadable look on his face. "We need to get back to the ship before the ground totally gives out and we all end up down there."

Annabeth didn't want to leave. She refused to continue on without Percy. It didn't matter how horrible a situation they were in as long as they were together.

Annabeth stood and rushed towards the gaping hole in the asphalt but just before she could leap in after her Seaweed Brain, a pair of hands grabbed her. She turned to see a distraught Hazel holding her back.

"Annabeth, you can't go in there after him. I know you can't bare being away from Percy but he needs you up here to help us get him out. He wouldn't want you down there."

"B-but he's all alone," Annabeth's voice quivered. "I can't let him be down there all by himself."

"I know but-" Hazel stared to counter but was interrupted by Jason who had just touched down next to them.

"I'm back. Sorry it took so long. We had a hard time securing the Athena-" Jason stopped mid-sentence. "Where's Percy?"

Hazel, Nico, and Annabeth all exchanged a sad look, none of them wanting tell the son of Jupiter what happened to Percy.

"Is he back on the Argo II or..." Jason couldn't finish his sentence. When no one responded he paled. "Oh gods," he whispered. Then shook his head in disbelief.

"I-I'll get you guys onboard," Jason's voice shook and it was quite strange seeing the 'emotionless' son of Jupiter show emotion.

He wrapped his arms around Annabeth and she tried to struggle out of his grasp but he held onto her firmly.

"Let me go!" She screamed. "I can't let him be alone down there!"

Jason ignored her cries of protest and flew her up to the ship. He touched down gently on deck and released his hold on her. She fell down to the ground due to the pain that shot up in her ankle putting the sudden weight on it. Jason dove back down over the edge for the others.

"Annabeth?" Piper's voice asked from somewhere behind her. "What's wrong?"

The daughter of Aphrodite rushed over and hugged Annabeth. "H-he's down there... all alone... have to... have to be with him... have to save him."

Piper looked confused at her mumbling. Jason came back up this time holding an upset Nico who probably wasn't a huge fan of flying.

"Have to see him," Annabeth mumbled and tried to stand up but couldn't with her ankle's poor condition.

"We need to get you to the infirmary," Piper said.

Annabeth shook her head ferociously. "No! I have to go down there! I have to be with him!" She started to sob.

Piper looks up at Nico. "What happened?"

Nico gets a sad and dark look in his eyes but doesn't say anything.

"Hey guys, we need to get going soon the-" Leo walked in then stopped mid sentence when he saw the sobbing blonde on the floor.

"Did I miss something?" he asked.

Frank appeared next to Leo. "What's wrong?"

Jason who Annabeth hadn't noticed had left again, touched down next to her on the ship holding Hazel. Hazel's eyes were puffy and red; her face tear streaked.

"Hazel!" Frank ran over to her and embraced her. Hazel buried her head into his chest and sobbed.

"Guys," Piper said, releasing Annabeth from her hug. "What's going on?"

"M-my fault," Annabeth sobbed. "It's all my fault!"

Hazel pulled away from Frank and wiped her tears. "Annabeth, it's not your fault. There was nothing you could do."

"WHAT ARE YOU GUYS TALKING ABOUT!?" Piper screamed in frustration.

Jason rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Percy fell into Tartarus."

Tartarus. That word seemed to echo around the ship, snuffing out all of the light in the world. A dark feeling hung in the air and a shiver ran down Annabeth's spine.

Just the name of that place was terrifying; she couldn't imagine what horrors Percy would be facing down there.

All alone.

Because of her.

"No," Piper whispered. "No, no, no! He couldn't have fallen down there. He can't be gone!"

"He's not gone yet," Nico said softly. "He's still alive, for now at least. Percy is the strongest demigod I've ever met. If anyone can survive down there it's him. We need to get to the doors on the mortal side and rescue him and close the doors."

"I'll go set sail for Epirus," Leo mumbled, with a shocked look on his face. He turned and quietly left.

"We'll get him back," Piper promised placing a hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "Nico's right. If anyone can survive the pit, it's him. Now let's go get your ankle taken care of."

Piper got up but Annabeth stayed put on the ground.

"What if no one can?"

Disclaimer: I do not own The Heroes of Olympus that belongs to Rick Riordan. I only own most of the plot.


	2. II

**PERCY**

 **Percy felt like he had been** falling for an eternity. After he let go of the ledge, he stared up at Annabeth and the sun for as long as possible before they faded away. He didn't like the thought that it might be the last time he ever saw his Wise Girl or the sun.

At first, he had been absolutely terrified of what horrors awaited him once he fell all the way down into the pit. He had wished that his fall would never end but now that it felt like it never would he took it back. His ADHD brain couldn't stand having nothing to do.

The only thing he saw was darkness and the only thing he heard was the wind whistling past as he fell.

Suddenly, screams of agony and malicious laughter were faint at first but grew louder the farther he fell. His annoyance and boredom from the long fall were once again replaced with fear. Maybe he would rather fall for eternity than face what Tartarus had to offer.

Then he saw something. It was a reddish light far below him. He started falling closer and closer to it and finally he could see the black walls of rock around him barely illuminated by the red light coming from the pit.

He looked down once again and this time could make out sharp, black rocks that littered the ground.

Percy swallowed. There was nothing down there to break his fall. Panic swelled inside his chest. He did not want to become a Percy pancake.

That's when he felt a familiar tug in his gut.

 _Water_. There was water somewhere nearby. Percy had never heard of water being in Tartarus but he didn't really have time to think about it as the ground drew nearer.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on the water. He controlled it to move up and break his fall. But when the water caught him, he didn't feel the strength boost and refreshment that the water usually offered him.

Instead he felt cold and wet. He tried to take in a breath but water filled his lungs and caused him to cough as he broke the surface. His arms and legs moved around frantically. For some reason he couldn't breathe in this river or control it very well.

That's when he heard the voices. They screamed in pain and whispered in his ears, feeling his mind with depressing thoughts.

 _Why try anymore?_

 _What's the point?_

 _Wouldn't it be easier to just give up now?_

 _You'll never make it out of here alive and even if you do what waits for you on the surface? War? Death?_

The voices were right. Percy gave up struggling to keep his head above the water and let himself sink.

 _You deserve to die anyway. All you do is get you care about killed._

The voices continued to whisper depressing words to him. Their wails filled his mind. His lungs begged for air but Percy ignored his pain — the voices were right; he deserved to die. All he ever did was get everyone he cared about killed.

Just as everything was about to go dark something happened.

He was no longer in the river in Tartarus. Instead he was in the lake at Camp Half-Blood sitting under the water grinning. He was grinning at a blonde haired girl sitting in a canoe up on the lake's surface looking around for something.

Percy chuckled to himself as the girl searched the water. She was really cute and he felt like he'd seen her somewhere before.

Then her stormy gray eyes landed on him and she grinned.

"Found ya, Seaweed Brain," she chuckled. Percy put his hands up in surrender. The girl reached her hand down in the water, offering it to him. He swam up to it not hesitating to take it.

She pulled him up and Percy broke the surface but he wasn't in the lake at camp; he was back in Tartarus.

Percy gasped for air and pulled himself out of the river. He laid on the shore catching his breath.

 _Annabeth_ he thought. _That was the girl's name._

The image he had seen while he was in the river was similar to the one he had seen when he bathed in the River Styx. Annabeth was his anchor. She was the one thing that kept him going. Even the memory of her was enough to get him up and moving.

He would get out of the pit for her.

Percy finally caught his breath and looked back at the river. The water rushed past and he could make out the tortured souls flowing through it. He could see the expressions of pain and anguish on their faces. Even from the shore he could still hear their cries and whispers telling him to just give up and jump in.

A part of him wanted to but he pictured his Wise Girl and stood up. He walked far away from the river so he would no longer be tempted to end it all.

He dried himself off and got his first good luck at Tartarus and it was absolutely terrifying to say the least. The ground was littered with jagged, black rocks. Thick clouds hung low in the air and all kinds of horrific sounds filled his ears.

With each breath he took he noticed that it was getting harder and harder to breathe as if the air were poison which would make sense; Tartarus was made to kill demigods.

Percy could also feel the scorching heat burning his skin. He was already starting to turn red and a few blisters were forming on his arms.

He wasn't sure how much longer he could continue on like this. He knew he would die soon from the heat, dehydration, or poisonous air which was not how he wanted to go.

Percy pulled out Riptide and decided he should find the doors but he had no idea where to start looking. He suddenly heard a noise behind him and whipped around.

Standing behind him was the biggest spider he had ever seen. It was bigger than him and about ready to pounce.

"You are not the Athenian spawn Gaea promised me!" The spider said in a woman's voice.

This must be Arachne, Percy thought as he remembered Annabeth telling him about her encounter with the spider on her quest.

"Oh well," Arachne continued. "You'll still make a delicious meal."

"See, about that," Percy responded. "I'm not really in the mood to get eaten today but maybe some other time?" Percy got in his battle stance.

The spider hissed and pounced in his direction. Percy sidestepped out of the way and brought his sword down in an arc, but the spider had fast reflexes and dove out of the way of Riptide.

The spider hissed as she turned back to face Percy. All of a sudden he could hear Arachne's heart beating. _Ta dum, ta dum, ta dum_ it was loud and echoed in his mind.

He could also sense her blood pumping through her veins; moving like the flow of a river. The heartbeat continued growing louder and louder as Arachne dove at Percy again.

Percy quickly rolled out of the way and dropped his sword. He covered his ears trying to block out the sound of the spider lady's heart beating but it only grew louder; taunting him.

He grabbed his sword and climbed to his feet. He wanted it to stop. He wanted her heart to stop beating. Time seemed to freeze as he remembered what Annabeth had told him after they had arrived to pick her up from her quest.

He remembered how shaken and scared she had been from her encounter with the spider. Arachne had hurt his Wise Girl and he was going to make her pay.

Percy growled, his bright, sea green eyes turned a shade of dark green. He smiled cynically. And Arachne stopped mid charge. She looked frightened.

"I-I'm not so hungry anymore," she started to slowly back away but Percy wasn't about to let her leave without paying for what she'd done.

He started walking towards her and Arachne turned to run but Percy held out his hand, her heart beat still echoing in his head. He could still sense her blood flowing.

He had a crazy thought. _What if he could control her blood the same way he could control water?_ Blood was mostly water wasn't it? He wasn't sure if it would work, after all Poseidon was god of the _sea_ not all liquid but he figured it was worth a shot.

He willed her blood to stop flowing and come to a stand still. To his surprise he could sense it obeying his command. Arachne started to scream out in pain and fell to the ground.

Percy allowed some blood to make it to her heart to keep her alive for the moment. He walked over to her and stood over her writhing body.

"Don't mess with my girlfriend," he snarled in a cold voice that didn't sound anything like his voice.

Arachne suddenly exploded into gold dust. Percy cursed. "You weren't supposed to die yet! I wasn't finished with you!"

Percy felt rage take over his emotions. Arachne hadn't suffered nearly enough to make up for what she did to Annabeth! She had died too fast.

 _Well done, Perseus,_ a deep, male's voice sounded. It shook both the ground and Percy to the core. Whoever was speaking was extremely powerful.

 _I sensed the darkness inside you,_ this time the voice knocked Percy off of his feet.

 _Tartarus,_ Percy thought. He didn't know who else the voice could've belonged to.

 _Darkness._ That's what he'd said. Percy pulled himself up to his feet. What did he mean _darkness?_

What he'd done to Arachne was necessary. It wasn't evil. But he knew it was. The way he'd wanted her to suffer, the pure rage he had felt when she'd died too fast, it was darkness.

How had even been able to sense her blood? He'd never done that before even though blood was mostly water.

Speaking of water, how would Percy survive without any? He could only go a few days without it and he hadn't drank any during his fall. He was certain he had fallen for days.

Percy closed his eyes and concentrated. He was trying to sense if there was any water safe for him drink here but he highly doubted it.

He felt a tug in his gut and a wave of relief washed over him. There was safe water somewhere down in the pit for him to drink. He followed the tug in his gut as it pulled him towards the source.

When it stopped, he had arrived at the bank of a river flowing with fire water. Wait, _fire_ water? Had his powers malfunctioned? How in Hades was fire water safe to drink?

But Percy didn't have much choice. He figured if he didn't drink he would die from dehydration anyway so he had nothing to lose. He bent over the water and scooped some out. The fire water burned his hands so he quickly swallowed.

He felt the liquid burn his throat as it went down. It was painful and Percy thought it was going to kill him.

He suddenly felt better though. His dehydration wasn't as severe and his blisters were gone. He found it easier and less painful to breathe.

The fire-water seemed to have the same effect as nectar on him only it scorched his throat and tasted horrible.

Percy straightened up. _Now what?_ He wondered. It was obvious he needed to find the Doors of Death but how was the question. He had no idea where to begin the search.

Percy wished he had Annabeth with him. He didn't want her to be in the pit and face the horrors he would have to face but he wished she was there to come up with some brilliant plan to get them out.

But Percy didn't have Annabeth. He didn't have anyone. He had to survive Tartarus alone.

 _What would Annabeth do?_ He asked himself. He needed to come up with a plan to get himself out.

He decided that he needed to stick near the river of fire. That was obvious enough if he wanted to survive. Percy decided to walk in the way the river was flowing, sticking close to the bank. Every now and then he would stop for a drink when his skin started to horribly blister and his lungs hurt from the poisonous air.

What had happened earlier with Arachne still bothered him. He didn't know what had come over him or how it had even happened. His new found abilities terrified him but what scared him even more was that he had almost enjoyed it.

He knew the voice was right. Whoever enjoyed watching others suffer and causing their pain had darkness inside of them. He wasn't turning dark was he? Being down in the pit must be bringing the worst out of him.

Percy suddenly had an idea. He wondered if the fire river could heal wounds. Percy took Riptide and winced as he dragged it across his left wrist. Blood started to drip from the wound and Percy placed his arm in the water.

He left it there for a few seconds until it started to burn his skin and he pulled it out with a yelp. When he re-examined the wound to his surprise it was burned shut. The skin around it was pink and slightly blistered but the wound was closed nonetheless.

At least now he knew if he was injured the fire river could heal him. He found it strange that he hadn't been hurt before. In fact, he hadn't seen any monsters since Arachne.

He thought that was strange until he remembered all of the monsters would be heading for the doors. The fact that he hadn't come across many monsters meant that he must have been far away.

He wasn't sure if he should be relieved there weren't many monsters or devastated that he still had a far journey ahead of him. He only hoped that he had picked the right direction to walk in.

Percy suddenly heard voices up ahead. He stopped in his tracks and readied Riptide.

 _Great, I've jinxed myself._

Percy saw that the voices were coming from a group of empousai several feet in front of him. They walked slowly thanks to their mismatched legs stumbling over the black rocks.

There were four of them and they hadn't yet noticed him. An imaginary light bulb suddenly appeared over Percy's head.

They were probably heading in the direction of the Doors of Death. Meaning as long as Percy could keep a good distance between them and himself they would lead him straight to the doors.

 _I'm coming, Wise Girl._

 **Thank you guys so much for all of your comments! I hope you liked this chapter. :)**


	3. III

H A Z E L

 **Hazel was thankful** that she was finally able to sleep. She had spent most of the night lying wide awake in bed with thoughts of the Percy haunting her mind. She could only imagine what horrors he would be facing in the pit and it sickened her just to think about it.

He fell in earlier that day in the afternoon and none of them had taken it well. When she finally asleep she expected to be haunted by some horrible demigod dream but that wasn't the case.

 _Hazel stood in a courtyard surrounded by ruins with wisps of white mist curling around her feet. In front of her were three large archways. One faced west, another north, and the final east._

 _"Hello, Hazel Levesque," a woman's voice said. Hazel searched around her for the source but couldn't see anyone._

 _"Do not be alarmed," it sounded like the voice was coming from everywhere with no specific direction._

 _"Show yourself!" Hazel called out to the voice._

 _"As you wish," it responded. The mist that hung low to the ground in front of her began to curl up forming a blob a little less than six feet tall. The blob was starting to take the shape of a woman. She was beautiful with long golden hair tied back into an Ancient Greek style ponytail. Her skin was deathly pale and her eyes were coal black. She wore a sleeveless white dress and gold sandals._

 _"Who are you?" Hazel asked the woman._

 _"I am Hecate," she answered. "Goddess of magic."_

 _Hazel knelt down to her knees. "Malady."_

 _"Rise daughter of Pluto. We have much to discuss and such little time."_

 _Hazel stood. "What do you want to talk to me about? And why are you talking to me? Isn't Olympus on lockdown? Wouldn't Jupiter punish you for this?"_

 _Hecate laughed. "You ask so many questions, dear. You remind me much of your mother."_

 _"You knew my mom?"_

 _"Of course I did. She was a fortune teller and I am the goddess of magic after all."_

 _Hazel remembered all the times growing up she was made fun of because of her mom. The kids at school calling her witch girl or saying that her mother made trades with the devil._

 _"I always thought she was just faking it for the money," she admitted._

 _Hecate frowned. "I do not take kindly to unbelievers."_

 _"It's not that I don't believe in that stuff. I just didn't at the time and I figured a mortal couldn't posses such abilities."_

 _"Your mother had a gift. She was quite talented. It's a shame what happened to her. I see more potential in you than her, however, being the daughter of Pluto. That is why I am here. You must learn to control the Mist if you want a chance at winning this war."_

 _"I thought only you and your children control it."_

 _Hecate shook her head. "Many demigods who aren't my children have learned. It is more challenging to do it without my lineage but it is possible."_

 _"Why do I need to control it?" Hazel asked._

 _"A witch awaits you at The House of Hades. If you want to close the doors you'll have to beat her at her own game. Which is why you must practice on your journey to Epirus."_

 _"You're not going to train me?"_

 _"I cannot, unfortunately. Zeus would be furious if he found out I was even lending you assistance." Hecate glanced around nervously as if expecting the king god to jump out of the ruins._

 _"How can I learn that fast?" Hazel didn't think she could learn to control the Mist, especially with such little time they had._

 _"You have great potential in you. I have complete faith that you will be able to do it so long as you train. But there is something else we much discuss quickly before I leave." She glanced around again nervously._

 _Hecate raised a pale arm and closed her startling black eyes. The mist on the ground started to curl up and feel the three stone archways. It formed shimmery images that soon solidified._

 _"I am also goddess of the crossroads as you may know," Hecate informed her. "You stand now at the crossroads. You have three choices."_

 _Hazel looked at the images in the west facing arch. It showed Roman demigods fighting the Greeks. She watched in horror as bronze clashed against gold and demigods from both sides were slain._

 _"Your first choice is what to do with the Athena Parthenos. If you abandon your quest to Greece and deliver it to the Greek camp you can prevent the battle."_

 _"But then no one is in Greece to stop Gaea," Hazel pointed out._

 _"That is true but you'll never make it to Greece anyway." She gestured to the north facing archway._

 _Hazel watched as an unconscious Leo fell through the sky and the Argo II exploded behind him. She couldn't see if any of the other demigods had made it off the ship before it blew up._

 _"Gaea's sending many of her minions after you and your friends. She will stop you from reaching Greece at all costs."_

 _"And the third option?" Hazel asked._

 _"See for yourself."_

 _The east facing archway showed the demigods battling an army of monsters in some building. Jason was summoning lightning blasting monsters to dust. He swung his Gladius in mighty arc after arc._

 _Piper was charm speaking monsters into letting her kill them with Katoptris. Frank switched between knocking arrows and shape shifting into different animals. He shot an arrow in his normal form and a large monster pounced at him. Frank quickly turned into a snake and slithered between the very confused monster's hind legs. He shifted again this time into a lion and tore the monster apart._

 _Annabeth was pale and extremely skinny. Her gray eyes were sad and broken. Her knees shook as she swung her dagger at the monsters surrounding her but her moves were slow and sloppy as if she were out of practice. Hazel would've been worried for her if it wasn't for Nico who looked much better than he did now protecting her but he was still weak from his time with the giants. It looked like the battle was becoming too much for them._

 _The mist in the archway began to reform into new shapes. This time she saw her and Leo looking badly beaten laying on the floor. A giant shadow was cast over them and she could her malicious laughter._

 _The scene changed once again this time showing a very wounded Percy sprawled out in front of giant black and silver doors. He was terribly pale and his skin clung tight to his bones as if he hadn't had a proper meal in months. His limbs were twisted in awkward angles and he was bloody and bruised._

 _A horde of monsters swarmed around the unconscious or possibly dead demigod. Hazel looked away from the scene._

 _"If you travel the long way round to Epirus you may make it but it will take several days longer than you have to spare," Hecate explained. "Even if you do make it by some miracle you won't survive your journey. This option is the most likely to end in all of your deaths."_

 _"What about Percy?" Hazel asked. "It only shows him in the eastern archway."_

 _"He dies in every option which is for the best. Surviving Tartarus would leave him insane at best."_

 _Hazel glanced between each archway. She watched each potential fate in horror. None of the options looked good. How was she supposed to choose one?_

 _"We'll continue to Greece," she decided. "We'll rescue Percy and close the doors. We'll fight Gaea and_ win _when she rises. We'll stop the Greeks and Romans from fighting."_

 _Hecate studied Hazel for a moment then smiled. "I quite like you, Hazel Levesque. Gaea will be rising on August first. We may meet again then if you survive until then. I wish you the best of luck."_

Hazel sat up in her bed back on the Argo II. She climbed out and through on some clothes. What Hecate had said bothered her. Was their quest really doomed?

Hazel went out to breakfast and saw everyone else except Annabeth was already there. She slid into the seat in between Nico and Frank.

"Morning Haze," Frank leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek, causing her to blush.

"Morning," she whispered back. The room was filled with silence and she stared over at the empty seat to the left of the chair at the head of the table.

Hazel glanced around and saw that she wasn't the only one sneaking glances. The mood was dark as if it were someone's funeral. After Percy's fall yesterday, everyone had blamed themselves.

Hazel was right there when it happened yet she had been powerless to stop it. She just had to get herself tangled up in the ladder. She should've been able to save her friend.

It wasn't too late though. Thoughts of her dream about Hecate came rushing back. How she had seen Percy's body broken and lifeless. She wasn't going to let that happen — not to any of her friends.

"I had a dream last night," Hazel spoke up loud enough for everyone to hear.

"What about?" Jason asked. Hazel could see the guilt in his eyes. Jason blamed himself for not flying back down for all of them sooner yesterday.

"Was it important?" Piper asked.

Leo rolled his eyes. "No Beauty Queen. Demigod dreams are never important." Piper smacked Leo in the head.

"It's urgent," Hazel said.

"I'll get Annabeth, then." Piper left the room.

Poor Annabeth. The girl had just gotten her boyfriend back after months of not knowing if he was alive and then not knowing if he even remembered her and now he had been taken from her again.

Piper returned with Annabeth who had went and sat at the head of the table. Hazel gave her a smile which the blonde tried to return but failed. Her gray eyes that once stormed with a million thoughts a minute were now dull and broken. She had small bags under her eyes as evidence that she hadn't slept last night. Her blonde curls hung around her head in tangles as if she hadn't bothered to run a brush through it which was likely true.

"What was your dream, Hazel?" Frank asked. Hazel watched Annabeth glance over at the empty seat next to her.

Hazel recounted her dream about the goddess Hecate. When she finished Leo clapped his hands together. "Well, sounds like we're done for."

"I told you we aren't choosing any of her paths," Hazel reminded him. "We'll make our own destiny. We can save the camps, shut the doors, rescue Percy, and stop Gaea."

"I'll go set course for the extremely long way to Epirus," Leo slipped out of the room.

"I'll help Hazel learn to control the Mist," Frank grabbed Hazel's hand and she smiled at him appreciatively.

"I guess that leaves me and Piper on watch," Jason said.

"What about me?" Nico asked. Hazel almost jumped. She'd forgotten her brother was there. Though she loved him to death, he still kind of gave her the creeps at times.

"You'll be focusing on your recovery," Hazel said sternly.

"I'm fine Hazel, really," Nico argued.

"You will get some rest and take it easy for awhile and I don't want to hear another word about it."

"Fine, Mom," Nico grumbled.

"Is he still alive?" Annabeth asked.

"Yes," Nico answered. "For now anyway."

Hazel felt relieved to hear that. Though she was Pluto's daughter she couldn't sense death as well as her brother could. Pluto was more on the underground riches and tunnels sort of thing.

"Good, because I swore on the Styx I'd get him back," Annabeth said.

"You what?" Jason asked.

"I swore on the Styx."

"Annabeth," Piper said gently. "Do you know how serious of an oath that is?"

"I know. That's why I intend to get him back." Hazel wondered how Annabeth could talk about something as serious as the oath so casually.

"But Annabeth, this is Tartarus we're talking about." A shiver ran down Hazel's spine at he pit's name. "There's no guarantees."

"You guys this is Percy we're talking about. He'll be fine, he always is."

Hazel felt uneasy. She knew Percy was powerful and perfectly capable of taking care of himself but not even the gods dared set foot in the pit. How could Percy stand a chance.

"I'm going to read," Annabeth left the room and the remaining demigods shared a look. No one said anything but it was obvious what they all were thinking;

 _An oath to keep with a final breath._

 **I'm really disappointed with this chapter. I've rewritten it like four times and hated it every single time. I decided to update anyway because I don't think I could ever be satisfied with it and you guys have waited long enough.**

 **I just wanted to say really quick that the time in Tartarus is different than in the mortal world. 1 day in the mortal world= 10 days in the pit.**

 **And thank you so much for all of the attention this story is getting! Your comments mean the world to me! :)**


	4. IV

**IV**

 **Percy trudged through the pit** following the empousai girls ahead of him. Since he had first started following them there had been a few minor monster attacks by smaller creatures. He had received a nasty scratch on his right arm but other than that was uninjured.

He would stop every now and again for a drink of fire water to heal his lungs and blistered skin. As he walked he thought about the incident with Arachne. Honestly, it scared him to think about what had happened with the spider lady.

He tried to ignore the weird feeling of pleasure in his gut at the thought of Arachne's body writhing in pain at his feet. But there was no denying it; somewhere deep down inside he knew he enjoyed torturing her.

And that terrified him.

Percy was pulled out of his thoughts when he stepped on something squishy that made a _pop_ sound when he stepped on it. He almost gagged at how bad the stench was. When he glanced around he saw several other round blister like things sticking out of the ground. Once he got a closer look, he could make out monsters reforming inside of them.

He wrinkled his nose in disgust, then went to continue on his journey when he realized the empousai were out of sight. Panic swelled in his chest.

There was no way the empousai could get that far ahead of him so fast. Especially on there mismatched legs. He whirled around with Riptide ready for a fight but couldn't see them anywhere.

He relaxed slightly and continued walking though his senses were on high alert. He walked about twenty yards when he heard movement behind him.

Percy turned just time to block razor sharp claws with his sword. Behind him the tree empousai hissed and bared their fangs.

"Well if it isn't Percy Jackson," one very familiar empousa hissed. "I've been waiting a long time for my revenge!"

"Long time no see, Kelly," Percy casually greeted. "Come to get your ass kicked by me again? I thought once was enough but I guess I was wrong."

Kelly laughed. "Don't you see Percy? You won't survive long down here. This our home court and you're all alone. Even if I don't beat you it's only a matter of time before something else does!"

Kelly dove at him but he easily side stepped. The other empousia began to circle him. He stood in a battle stance ready to slice through them as soon as they made their move.

As they hissed at him continuing around the circle Percy fought the urge to use his newly discovered powers. He wanted to test the limits and experiment with these abilities. All of the guilt that had overwhelmed him before had been replaced with a strong desire to use them again.

Percy didn't notice his eyes turn dark and his brooding expression turn into a sinister grin.

One emposa lunged at Percy but he put his right hand up and willed her blood to boil. She fell to the ground and howled in pain.

Percy grinned down at her watching in satisfaction as she cried out in pain. He was consumed with darkness and couldn't think rationally. He loved the feeling of being powerful.

The empousa on the ground suddenly burst into gold dust and Percy cursed. He wanted her to die slowly just as he had wanted for Arachne. He straightened up and stared coldly at the remaining two empousai. They cowered in fear staring wide eyed at the demigod.

"Please," Kelly begged. "Have mercy on us."

"Mercy?" Percy laughed. "You want me to have mercy on you? Have you ever had any mercy on any half-blood as you bit into their neck?"

Neither monster answered.

"That's what I thought. You do not deserve my mercy." He threw Riptide to the ground and concentrated on their bodily fluids. He forced them to choke on their saliva. They sank to their knees clawing at their throats. Their eyes were full of desperation and pleading. His grin grew. He loved that look.

At the last second before they passed out, Percy let them breathe again. They fell onto their arms and knees gasping for breath.

"I'm not finished with you yet," he spat. The empousa that wasn't Kelly tried to crawl away but Percy froze her blood this time and she screamed before exploding into dust.

Percy turned his attention to Kelly who was whimpering on the ground. "Please," she begged.

Percy ignored her and tried to imagine what method of torture he could use on her. What would cause her a slow, painful death. He could try controlling other bodily fluids. But Percy was no expert on the human body. He was completely stumped as to what to do with Kelly.

He closed his eyes and focused on the fluids in her body trying to see if he could feel anything surely to cause her pain.

He decided to stick with blood control as that was what he knew the most about. He reopened his eyes to see Kelly whimpering in fear. She lay on her stomach with big eyes. Her whole body shook and something inside of Percy changed. He shook his head and blinked his dark eyes a few times. The dark pleasure that had consumed him moments again was now replaced with immense guilt and fear. He stared down at his shaking hands with now sea green eyes and wondered what was happening to him? How had he become so dark and twisted?

"I'm sorry," he apologized to Kelly. "I don't know what got into me."

The fear in Kelly's face lessened. "So you're gonna let me live?"

"No, you'll only kill me if I do," Percy drew Riptide and sliced through Kelly. Immediately she disintegrated into golden dust.

Percy sank to his knees not caring as the jagged rocks dug into his skin. He was still trying to process what had just happened. What had he done? He couldn't understand where these new powers were coming from. Had he always had them and had never realized he did? Or were they some how new, a result of his time in the pit. Either way he was terrified of his new found abilities. He was afraid of what he was capable of and what he had done. What would Annabeth think if she found out? Surely she would make him out to be a monster. He enjoyed causing suffering and pain. How could he not be a monster of a man?

He pulled himself together enough to get up and continue his journey. As he ventured further through the pit, he noticed that monster attacks became more and more frequent. He refrained from controlling their blood and instead struck them down with Riptide.

But he knew that he wouldn't last much longer going on like this. He was on the monsters' home turf and everything about this place was designed to kill his kind. He honestly didn't know how he had managed to survive this long down in the pit.

Tartarus' landscape had become more jagged as he ventured. Cliffs towered over him and he couldn't even see the top due to the pink and red clouds that blanketed sky. Geysers went off randomly shooting lava into the air all around him and he hoped that none would erupt too closely to him. More of the bubble type things that contained reforming monsters jutted out of the ground. He saw decaying carcasses which he didn't think was possible due to the fact that monsters explode into dust when killed.

He approached the base of the cliff and stared up he jagged, black surface. Climbing up the cliff were four monsters of a species he had never encountered before. They were pale and bald with four sets of arms and two sets of legs jutting out of their thin bodies. He could see their spines where their wrinkled skin cling tight to their bones. Short, dinosaur like tails protruded out of the end of their bodies.

Percy had yet to be spotted as the monsters climbed the cliff with surprising speed. He decided to wait until they disappeared from view into the clouds, and then a while after that. He had know idea how tall the cliff was. It could end only a few feet above the low hanging clouds or go on for miles after that. He backed up a few steps to look for somewhere to hide from the monsters' views while he waited. But as he took another step back he ran into something... furry?

Percy gulped as his body was pressed up against a furry surface. He could hear heavy breathing coming from well above his head and slight snarls.

Slowly, Percy took a step forward and then turned around to see a pack of hellhounds standing there. How he hadn't notice them before now Percy didn't know. They were loud and the size of dump trucks yet somehow they had managed to sneak up on him. Percy held Riptide ready and examined the pack. Each hound bared it's razor sharp teeth and stood ready to pounce at any moment. Drool dropped from their mouths as they snarled and growled at him. There were several hellhounds in the pack and Percy knew he wouldn't be able to fight all of them off, especially in the weakened state Tartarus had put him in.

The hounds continued to stare him down and Percy stood his ground. They seemed to be daring each other to make the first move. Percy waited a second before dropping Riptide and sprinting towards the fire river. He dropped his sword so that he could run faster without it weighing him down. He could hear the hellhounds barking and bounding after him but refused to glance back. He knew he couldn't outrun them, not for long anyway, but if he could just make it to the river...

He only had a few yards to go when he felt sharp claws slash across his back. He cried out in pain as blood poured from the wound. He almost fell to the ground from the pain but knew if he did it would mean he would become a chew toy for the hellhounds. He pulled Riptide out of his pocket and turned to face the beasts. They had all caught up with the one that had wounded him by now and seemed to be waiting for something.

Percy wasn't exactly what you would call the patient type so he charged the hellhounds. He sliced through two of them before the others reacted and started to pounce at him. Percy sidestepped, rolled, and jumped to avoid their razor sharp claws and sliced mercilessly through them with Riptide as they pounced. He was a hurricane destruction as he ripped almost effortlessly through the pack. He felt that familiar feeling of satisfaction in his gut as he went along killing monster after monster. Until one hound managed to pin him to the ground; claws digging into his shoulders. Percy yelled in pain and tried to kill the hound with his sword but he couldn't move his arms.

He knew he had told himself he wouldn't do it again but he didn't think he had any other option. He focused on the blood of the hound and willed it to stop pumping through its body. The hellhound pulled its claws out of his shoulders and staggered back; howling in pain. The other hounds watched in confusion and Percy used it as a diversion as he sprinted the last few yards to the fire river.

Percy reached the shore and without slowing down, leaped over the river. Er, tried to anyway. He landed with a splash in the scorching hot fire water and screamed in pain. Any other mortal would have been torched immediately but thanks to his water powers as the fire water burned him it also healed him making him able to survive for now. The hounds skidded to a stop at the bank barking at him. One unfortunate hellhound didn't stop in time and skidded into the water and for let out a cry of agony before being burned to dust.

Percy felt a bit of sympathy for the beast. The hellhounds reminded him painfully of his pet hellhound Mrs. O'Leary. The rest of the pack paced on the shore barking at him. Percy waded through the fire water and climbed out on the upset side of the hounds. He payed on the ground breathing heavily. The pain he was in was almost unbearable. Even with his son of Poseidon powers he'd still suffered from third degree burns. His skin and clothes were totally torched and every inch of his body cried he It in pain.

He reached his left hand down into the river and scooped a bit of fire water into his hand. He gulped it down quickly before it could worsen the damage done to his hand and felt instant relief. The burns were still serious and he was still in agonizing pain but his condition was far better now than before. He knew he needed treatment otherwise he might not make it but how could he treat himself in Tartarus There was no ambrosia or nectar, no Apollo or any of his demigod children, or even mortal medicine. The only thing he had for healing was the river of fire that rushed below.

Maybe if he could just find some normal water he'd be able to heal himself. But he seriously doubted there was any down here.

He closed his eyes and tried to sense some water. He knew it was a long shot but if he wanted to make it to the surface he needed to find some. Percy found himself able to sense the water molecules in the air, something he couldn't remember doing before. He became aware of where everything was within a two mile radius. He could sense blood being pumped throughout the bodies of monsters. He could sense there bodily fluids. He got a dark feeling inside of him and a strong desire to control the blood and fluids in the monsters was overwhelming but he managed to push those thoughts away. He had needed to stay focused on the task at hand.

As expected, the closest thing to actual water he could sense was the fire water in front of him and that wasn't very helpful. Percy pushed himself up to his hands and knees. Pain shot up through his limbs and they shook under his weight. The hellhounds had given up on him and trotted away to find their next victim. Percy inched forward - each movement causing him immense pain. He didn't know where he was going, but he knew he needed to get away from here. He knew he wouldn't make it far without treatment. Percy knew he wouldn't be finding any of that down here.

His limbs finally gave out and he collapsed onto the ground breathing heavily. The black rocks dug into his skin but he could barely move to a more comfortable position. A few raspy breaths escaped his lips as his vision became clouded with dark spots. The world spin around him and he knew he didn't have much time.

With the last bit of strength he had left inside him, he rasped out two words. "Help me."

And his vision went black.

 **Sorry it took so long for me to update. But thanks so much for all of your support I'm hoping to update more frequently now. Also sorry if this chapter seems a bit rushed or all over the place.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	5. V

**Piper stood on the deck** of the Argo II staring at the stretch of sea below. She was extremely fatigued as were the rest of the crew. Ever since they had started on the long route to Greece monster attacks had been come more frequent. Bandages were wrapped around her shoulder where a monster had taken a bite out of her. She had been in the infirmary for two days after that.

"We should go get some lunch," Jason said from beside her. Piper nodded and intertwined her fingers with his. Jason looked like he'd barely slept in days with small bags under his eyes that matched hers. He too had obtained several minor injuries from the constant attacks. Honestly Piper had no idea how they would keep going like this.

Jason took his seat at the head of the table since Annabeth rarely came out of her room. He had become like the unofficial leader of the seven ever since they'd lost Percy and Annabeth was in no condition to lead. She was an emotional mess that spent her days either staring blankly at walls or crying hysterically. Seeing Annabeth in that condition was strange after all she had once been the strong daughter of Athena no one dare mess with. Piper had never even seen her cry until two and half weeks ago.

 _Two and a half weeks._ How could anyone survive Tartarus that long? But she knew Percy had some how thanks to Nico's ability to sense death.

Piper slid into the chair next to Jason. The other crew members (minus Annabeth) were already seated at the table. Leo sat on Piper's right and Frank and Hazel sat across from them with Nico on Hazel's right. All of the crew looked like a mess with cuts and scars littering their bodies. Their eyes were bloodshot and bags hung underneath them. None of them had slept very well but how could they when they were always defending the ship.

"We can't keep going like this," Jason said. "We're all exhausted and our fighting is getting sloppier. We'll never make it to Greece at this rate."

Leo rolled his eyes. "No shit Captain Obvious. What are you gonna discover for us next? The earth is round? Queen Dirt Face is gonna kill us all?" Leo's words came off a bit harsh unlike his usual sarcastic or joking manner.

Jason shot a glare at him. "I'm just saying we have to find a way to avoid these attacks."

Leo threw his hands up in the air. "Avoid them! How in Hades are we supposed to _avoid_ getting attacked? We're seven powerful demigods with three big three children sailing to the ancient lands to defeat Gaea on giant freakin' Greek warship. What do you expect to happen?"

The tension in the air was heavy. No one had been acting like themselves lately and their was always arguing going on. The crew was falling apart and Piper knew their was no way they could defeat Gaea if they couldn't get along.

Jason eyed Leo dangerously. "I expect you to build some contraption thing that will shield us from monsters."

Leo thought for a moment. "I'm not really sure if that's possible but I could certainly try." He pulled some blue print paper and a pen out of his tool belt and pushed his plate aside to lay it out on the table.

"I could try using the mist," Hazel offered. "I'm not sure if I could cover something this big but I could try."

"I think that's a good idea, Hazel," Jason complimented.

"I'll give it a try," Hazel closed her eyes and concentrated. Sweat began beading down her face which started to turn red with effort. When she reopened her eyes she relaxed in her chair. "Done."

Hazel wiped the sweat off of her face as she caught her breath. "Good job, Hazel," Frank kissed her forehead and she blushed.

Piper smiled. They were so cute together.

"I'm going to go work on this in the engine room." Leo gathered the blueprints in his arms and left.

"Do we even need him to build that anymore?" Piper asked.

Jason shrugged. "Not really, but once Leo gets started on something he has to finish it."

Piper turned to Hazel. "Does it take a lot of effort to keep the mist up?"

"It doesn't take any actually," Hazel answered. "It just kinda stays that way until I or someone else who can control the most takes it down."

"Oh okay, that makes sense," Piper took a bite out of the blueberry muffin she had summoned.

"Guys," Nico suddenly spoke. He had paled even more than he already was if that were even possible. "It's Percy. I think he's... _dying._ "

The word 'dying' was barely audible but they all heard it. Piper felt a sick feeling in her gut. They couldn't lose Percy, they needed him in the battle against Gaea. And poor Annabeth, she would be even more of a mess.

The room was eerily silent after that. No one said anything as they picked at their food, no longer hungry when the alarm sounded.

"Not again," Piper groaned. The demigods rushes out of the room onto the deck where they found two monkey-like dwarfs running around. Defiantly not the monster attack any of them were expecting.

"What in Hades are those things?"Piper asked.

"Get back here!" Leo chased after the short guys. They snickered as they continued to run away. She noticed one of them clutched Leo's tool belt in their furry hand.

Piper sprang into action joining the chase. "Hello pretty girl," one giggled.

"My, what shiny eyes you have," the other called. Piper ran harder.

"My, what a shiny dagger you have," the first one stopped running and licked it's lips. The second one followed suit. Piper stopped in front of them and grabbed the tool belt. The little guy was surprising strong and pulled back. Piper pulled with all of her strength and soon enough Leo came to help. He grabbed onto the tool belt and pulled as if they were playing a match of tug of war.

The thing let go and Leo wrapped it around his waist. "Stay off of my ship you obnoxious little—"

"Piper! Your dagger!" Jason shouted. Sure enough while she had been distracted with Leo's belt she hadn't noticed the other hairy guy had stolen her dagger. Piper cursed and once again chased after the little guys but they were much faster than her. Jason tried to tackle them but they simply dodged and continued running.

"Who are these guys?" Jason asked in frustration.

"We're Akmon and Passalos," one answered. "The Kerkopes."

"The Kerk what?" Leo asked.

"They stopped running and turned to face the group. The one who had spoken early puffed out its chest. "The mighty Kerkopes. Fear us!"

"Never heard of you guys before," Leo said. "You don't look like much."

The Kerkopes looked outraged. "Never heard of us!? Of course you've heard of us!" The one with Piper's dagger cried. "You mortals fear us taking your shiny and precious things."

Piper got an idea. She silently slipped around behind the The Kerkopes who were still distracted by Leo.

"I don't see anything terrifying about cute little monkey dudes."

Piper crept up slowly behind them.

" _Cute_? How dare you call us cute!"

"Or dudes," the other one whined.

Piper made her move grabbing her dagger and ripping it from the little guy's hand. "Hey! No fair!"

"It's _my_ dagger," Piper shot back.

"B-but it's so shiny," he pouted.

"Hey," Jason appeared next to Piper. "You know who has a ton of really shiny stuff."

"Who?" The dwarfs asked eagerly.

"Over in America there's an entire legion of Roman demigods headed to Long Island, New York. They have tons of shiny things. Weapons, armor, coins, you name it."

The dwarfs wagged their furry monkey tails excitedly and drool dripped from their mouths.

"And it's all imperial gold."

"Gold!" One exclaimed. "You said they are in America?"

Jason nodded.

"Ooh, I've never been to America," the other said.

"Think of all the shiny things we could steal there!"

"And don't forget the Romans," Jason reminded them. "They have so many precious, shiny things for you to steal."

"Oh don't worry! We wouldn't pass up an opportunity like this!" And with that the monkey dwarfs leapt excitedly off the ship.

"I thought Hazel put up some mist to protect the ship," Piper said.

"They must have gotten on before and just barely triggered the alarm," Hazel suggested.

"Hopefully those monkey guys we'll slow the legion down," Jason said.

A silence hung on the deck afterwards as they all glanced nervously at Nico, remembering the news he had delivered earlier on their friend.

"Not yet," was all he said.

 _Not yet._ Percy wasn't dead. _Yet._

Piper squeezed Jason's hand. He gave her a small smile. She could see the tiredness in his eyes. It wasn't just from the lack of sleep they'd all been dealing with. It was more of a mental exhaustion from trying to be a leader and hold the seven together.

"Maybe you should go lay down," Piper suggested softly.

Jason shook his head. "No, I'll be fine. They need me up here."

"We can go a couple hours without you without blowing the place up," Piper teased. "It's fine if you do. You need rest if you want to be a good leader."

"I'm fine, Piper, really," Jason was being stubborn and she knew there was no way she could convince him so she left it at that.

"I love you, Jason."

"Love you too," he wrapped his arms around her waist and she leaned into his chest. They stayed that way for a little while and then Piper pulled away.

"So," Leo started. "Now what do we do? You know, now that we don't have to worry about monsters harassing us every five seconds?"

Piper shrugged. "Beats me."

"You guys," everyone turned around to see Annabeth standing on deck. Her blonde curls fell around her head in a tangled mess. Her eyes darted all around the room unable to settle on anything. She no longer favored her left foot or wore the cast on her ankle indicating that it must have healed. "I had a dream."

 **Thank you so much for reading! I went to the Loveloud Festival this weekend and it was so amazing! If you don't know what it is it's a big concert/festival they put on in Utah where all of the money made goes to helping LGBTQ+ youth in crisis. They have bands like Imagine Dragons, Zedd, and a ton of other people perform and give little speeches about acceptance and loving everyone and teen suicide it was so much fun! If you ever get the chance to go then go! Even if you're a straight white girl like me. This year they raised over a million dollars which is so amazing and the entertainment was awesome!**

 **Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter and I hope to be able to update again soon! Unfortunately I start school back up in less than a month so I don't know how frequent updates will be then but I promise I won't take forever.**

 **Have any amazing day/night!**


	6. VI

**P E R C Y**

 **Percy should've been dead.** That much he knew but when he opened his eyes only to find himself still in the pit he was quite surprised to say the least. He sat up slowly feeling much better than he had the entire time he'd been down there.

"You're awake!" Percy heard a familiar voice he couldn't quite place say. He twisted around to see a titan grinning at him. Percy pulled Riptide out of his pocket but before he uncapped his pen/sword he noticed the janitors uniform he wore.

What kind of titan wears a janitor's uniform?

"Who are you?" Percy asked.

The titan looked hurt that he didn't know he was. "I am Bob. And you are Percy."

Realization hit him. Before him sat none other than Iapetus; the titan whose memory he had wiped a couple years ago. After that he had dropped him off at Hades' palace and never given him a second thought.

"Bob! Hey buddy, long time no see, huh? What are you doing here?"

"I heard you ask for help," Bob explained. "So I came to help you because Nico said you were good."

"Nico?" Percy shouldn't have been surprised Bob had met Nico before. He did spend a lot of time in the underworld.

"Nico is good. He is my friend and you are his friend so you are my friend too!"

"Did you heal me?"

"Yes I can heal people by touching them. You were hurt really bad."

"Thank you so much Bob," Percy stood up. "I'm sorry I didn't visit you in the underworld."

"It is okay, friend. Nico said you were too busy saving the world."

Percy suddenly felt really bad for never giving Bob a second thought. He should've visited him to see how he was holding up and make sure Hades was treating him well. How many others hadn't he given second thoughts too?

"We should get moving," Bob suggested. "It is not safe for you to stay in the same place for long. You smell good and that attracts a lot of monsters. I had to fight a lot while you were sleeping."

"Good idea," Percy slowly stood up and was surprised that he wasn't met with any pain. "Do you know the way to the Doors of Death?"

"Of course! I will take you there," Bob replied cheerfully.

"Really? You'll go with me?"

"I cannot be with you the whole time. The Fates won't allow that but I will be there for most of it."

"The Fates won't allow you?" Percy wondered if the titan had had a conversation with the three old ladies down in the underworld.

"Yes, they say you need to do some of it alone."

"Why do they hate me so much?"

"You are a hero. They like to see just how much suffering you can take."

"Yeah, I noticed." Percy grumbled.

"Mew," a small head suddenly appeared out of Bob's shirt pocket. It was a gray kitten with big, green eyes. The kitten opened its small mouth wide and yawned.

"What's with the kitten?" Percy asked.

The kitten tilted its head curiously to the side. "This is Small Bob," Bob patted the feline on its head. "He is good."

The kitten jumped out of Bob's pocket and trotted over to Percy. He rubbed his head up against Percy's legs, purring. Percy chuckled at the cat. How long had it been since he'd seen a kitten? And what was something so innocent and adorable doing done in the pit?

Percy scratched Small Bob's chin. "We really should go," Bob glanced around worriedly.

"Right," Percy scooped the kitten up in his arms and gently handed him to Bob. Bob place Small Bob in his shirt pocket. "The doors are this way."

••••••• tImE Skip •••••••

Percy followed Bob through the pit. He had to admit it was nice having someone to talk to. At least for now he wasn't completely alone. Most monsters left them alone out of fear of the titan and the giant skeleton cat (Percy had been quite freaked out the first time the seemingly innocent kitten transformed into a large killing machine) that Percy traveled with.

He had also learned from Bob that the fire river was called the _Phlegethon_. It worked much like ambrosia and nectar; small amounts would heal demigods but drink too much and you'd burn up.

Bob suddenly stopped and frowned. "What's wrong, Bob?"

"The Fates, they say I can't go with you anymore."

Percy's heart sank. "Why?"

Bob shrugged. "It is your fate. But we will meet again soon, Percy. They Fates said so. That is, if you survive. Good luck, friend."

"See you around, Bob," Percy watched as his friend bounded away in the direction they had just come from. He wondered if it would be the last time he would ever see Bob.

 _If I make it out of here alive,_ Percy thought. _I'll come and visit you more often. I swea_ r _it on the Styx._

Percy continued forward but it wasn't long before he heard loud screeching coming from ahead of him. A dark swarm of hideous beasts flapped their wings encircling him.

Percy readied Riptide awaiting their attack.

 _We are the arai. A voice rang out from the monster swarm. We avenge those who have been wronged by inflicting the one who wronged them with a terrible curse. And you, Perseus Jackson, have many curses stacked up against you._

The _arai_ dove at Percy and he swung his sword through them but he didn't know how he would be able to defend himself against the hoard.

As soon as his sword struck the first one it instantly exploded into dust but he felt a sudden pain in his chest as if all of his ribs had been crushed. He yelled out as a few of the monsters clawed at his skin and he killed another one. This time he felt as if he were suffocating.

He staggered back, unable to breathe. He clawed at his throat as his lungs burned and screamed for oxygen but no matter how hard he tried it seemed impossible to get any air in his lungs. The arai stopped their attacks and cackled with laughter, taunting him. He collapsed to the ground, his vision growing blurry. He started gaping like a fish out of water. Suffocation had been his worst fear since the incident in Alaska though he hated to admit it. He'd been hesitant to go anywhere near the water since then. He knew it was a stupid fear him being the son of Poseidon and all. But Thalia was afraid of heights and she couldn't fly yet Jason could. So it left him to wonder, if he was afraid of drowning would his powers not work anymore?

Percy was about to lose consciousness when suddenly his lungs filled with air. He started gasping in breaths as relief washed over him like a tidal wave.

 _Don't you see, Perseus,_ the _arai_ hissed _. You will not be able to defeat us. For each one of us you slay a new curse will be inflicted upon you. That was from one of the many victims of your drowning._

"Victims?" Percy stood. "How were they victims? I was defending myself and my friends. I killed to protect camp."

 _Demigods. You're all the same. There is so much you don't understand. Do you really think monsters are the bad guys?_

"They kill innocent demigods!" Percy argued.

 _And why do they kill half-bloods?_

"Because we're the children of the gods. Which is kinda messed up to kill someone because of who their parents are."

 _Do you really think the gods are any better? They don't really care about you. They only use you as a pawn in their game. You fight their wars for them and then what? What happens during peace time when a hero is no longer needed? They will betray you, Perseus. Out of fear of what you are capable of. You are growing stronger by the minute. The longer you're down in here the more powerful and darker you become._

"Stop it! You're only trying to get into my head!"

 _Believe what you want Perseus. The gods have brainwashed you into thinking they're the good guys and that all monsters are bad but what about your pet hellhound? She isn't bad and yet you seem to think all other monsters are._

"Mrs. O'Leary was a rare exception!" Percy was starting to feel frustrated now. He didn't know why the _arai_ continued taunting him instead of just killing him but he did appreciate the extra time to come up with some sort of plan to defeat them.

 _But just how rare, Perseus? Bob is a titan and he isn't bad._

"He was until I wiped his memories."

 _Because he forgot the cruelty of the gods. He no longer remembers what made him bitter towards them in the first place. Don't you see Perseus, you're fighting for the wrong side._

"No I think you're fighting for the wrong side."

The _arai_ swarmed over him once again. Percy slashed at them like a hurricane. Curse after curse was placed upon him yet he didn't feel the effects of a single one.

Until he saw Annabeth standing a few feet away from him.

Percy came to an immediate stop. He knew it must've been a trick of the mist or a delusion of some kind but he didn't care. His wise girl was right there.

She looked as beautiful as always with her blonde princess curls tied back into a lose ponytail and her gray eyes sparkling with life.

"Annabeth," Percy breathed out.

"Percy!" Annabeth called, searching around frantically. "Percy, why did you leave me?"

"Annabeth!" He shouted. "I'm right here!"

She continued searching and calling out to him and for some reason she glanced right over him every time as if he wasn't even there. He ran towards her and as he tried to touch her she disappeared and reappeared a few more feet away.

 _Ooh, this is a good one, the arai taunted. A curse from the one you abandoned._

"Abandoned?" Percy asked. "I never abandoned anyone." That's when it dawned on him. The beautiful girl he'd left all alone on an island. He felt a sharp pang in his chest. How had he forgotten about her? He really was an awful person. All he did was hurt people.

He glanced back over hopelessly at Annabeth as she stumbled around searching for him.

"Why did you leave me?" She screamed. "How could you do this to me!"

It pained him to see his girlfriend screaming at him, her voice laced with betrayal. He wanted to run to her and tell her that he'd never leave her but he knew it was pointless.

"She's not real," he told himself. He spared one last glance at the fake Annabeth, then charged the swarm of _arai_.

He only managed to kill one of them before he felt an immediate sharp pain in his body. He fell to the ground and Riptide fell a few feet away. His body felt as if it was on fire and he knew immediately what it was; Gorgon poison.

He was reminded of his encounter with the old, blind king back in Alaska where he had gambled his life for a piece of information. He didn't remember the guy muttering any last curses before his death but they'd been in such a hurry he probably hadn't even noticed it.

And then he noticed his surroundings had taken a dramatic change. The scene was so horrifyingly gruesome before him that no words could describe it. Under any other circumstances his weak mortal brain would've exploded from the sight.

 _You now see how truly horrifying Tartarus is. Not even the gods would see it in it's true state because of how terrible really is. The only ones who can are Hades and his children. Too bad you won't live much longer to really take it all in._

Percy let out a series of screams of agony as the pain consumed him. "Bob!" Was the only word he was able to rasp our before everything went black.

 **Hey , so um, I'm alive. Please don't kill me. I know it's been forever since I updated but I've been so busy with school and sports I haven't had much time to write. Plus I've had a serious case of writers block and lack of inspiration so that hasn't helped. I'm going to try really hard to update as soon as possible and hopefully get into a schedule but for now all I can say is that I'm going to try and thank you so much for all of the support I'm getting! Your reviews mean the world to me! 3**


	7. VII

**N**

 **"Guys," Annabeth appears on deck** of the Argo II, much to Jason's surprise. "I had a dream."

Annabeth looked like a mess, to say the least. Her blonde hair fell tangled around her shoulders, her gray eyes were dull and unfocused. Bags hung under her eyes indicating she hadn't been sleeping well lately.

"What happened in your dream?" Piper asked.

Annabeth's eyes darted around the room at the crew members. "I can't go into much detail. It's hard for me to talk about. But I'm worried about Percy."

"We all are," Hazel said gently.

"In my dream, Gaea came to visit me. She showed me some pretty awful things and then she told me that the fate of the war rested in Percy's hands and that she knew just how to use that to her advantage. I'm worried that she's going to use his fatal flaw against him, that's assuming he gets out of Tartarus alive."

"What's his fatal flaw?" Jason asked. If Gaea was going to use it against his friend, he wanted to know how he could prevent that form happening.

"Personal loyalty," Nico answered for Annabeth.

Leo snorted. "How in Hades is that a fatal flaw? Isn't it a good quality to have?"

"A fatal flaw isn't always a bad quality someone has," Annabeth explained. "It's more of a fatal thing or something that could result in the person's downfall if they aren't careful. Percy would literally destroy the world just to save a friend." Annabeth got a sad, distant look in her eyes as she talked about her Seaweed Brain.

"So Percy's fatal flaw is loyalty and Gaea wants to use that against him to shift the outcome of the war to her favor," Piper summed up. "How does she plan to do that?"

Annabeth leaned against the wall, probably because of her ankle that was still weak. "That's what we need to figure out. What I'm really worried about is that maybe she already has."

"How so?" Jason asked, trying to think of a time Percy's loyalty had gotten him into trouble.

"Tartarus," with the utterance of that one word the temperature of the room seemed to drop ten degrees. Chills ran down Jason's spine.

"Gaea might have known Percy wouldn't let me fall and he would fall in instead. It would be the perfect way to get rid of him if she really wanted to." Jason could tell it was hard for Annabeth to talk about Percy falling into Tartarus. She still carried around the guilt of what happened to him.

"We don't know for sure that's what Gaea meant though," Piper pointed out. "This could be a good sign. It could mean that Percy is going to survive the pit. Right now I say we focus less on Gaea and more on rescuing our friend. We can figure out how to prevent Gaea from using him to win _after_ we rescue him." Piper's words hit Jason so hard he wondered if she'd accidentally slipped some charm speak in. He felt half tempted to jump into Tartarus and rescue Percy himself.

"We have to actually get to Epirus before we can save Percy," Leo pointed out. "And by the way things have been going so far, I'm not sure if that's gonna happen."

" I thought Nico was supposed to be the pessimistic one," Piper joked.

"I'm not being pessimistic. I being realistic," Leo shot back. And there it was again, the constant bickering between crew members that had been going on for the past two and a half weeks.

"Relax, I was only kidding."

"Yeah, whatever," Leo huffed and stormed below deck.

Piper crossed her arms in annoyance. "What's his problem?"

Jason grabbed his girlfriend's hand. "We're all under a lot of stress right now. None of us have really been ourselves lately. Give him a break."

Piper pulled her hand away. "Of course you're siding with him now."

Jason was surprised at her sudden outburst. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm not siding with anyone. All I'm saying is that we all need to focus on trying to get along that's all."

"I guess you're right," Piper sighed. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. It's just been a really stressful few weeks and I've not been sleeping much." Piper paused to look up at him with her beautiful kaleidoscope eyes he'd fallen in love with. He could see the worry in them, the stress, and the fear.

"I'm scared," Piper whispered, her voice shaking. "We're too young for this, Jason. We're only sixteen and they expect us to go and save the world. We could _die_." Jason saw that Piper was on the verge of tears. "I can't lose you."

Jason pulled his girlfriend into his chest. She wrapped her small arms around him and rested her head against his shoulder. "We'll be okay. I promise."

They stayed like that for a few moments, and Jason wanted nothing more than to lift off into the air and fly Piper far away from any monsters or wars. It pained him to see her this way.

"You guys," Annabeth broke the silence. "What about the Athena Parthenos? How are we gonna get it to camp and stop the battle between Greeks and Romans? There's no way we have time to go all the way back to New York."

It hadn't even occurred to Jason that they needed to get the statue back to camp with everything else going on, it must have slipped his mind.

"We have to think of something," Hazel said. "We can't let them fight, that's what Gaea wants."

"How is camp anyway?" Annabeth asked. "Have you been in contact with them lately?"

"Not exactly," Jason admitted. They in fact hadn't contacted either camp since they left Camp Jupiter after the whole Eidolon incident.

"Then that should be our first step. Let's Iris Message Chiron and Reyna and see what they think."

Jason along with Piper, Nico, Hazel, and Frank followed Annabeth below decks to the Iris Message fountain Leo installed.

The daughter of Athena fished a gold drachma out of her pocket. "Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering," she flipped the coin into the misty rainbow emitted from the fountain. "Show me Chiron of Long Island, New York."

An image of the old centaur appeared in the rainbow. Jason could see the exhaustion and worry in his eyes, but they soon lit up after he saw them.

"Ah, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, it's good to see you," Chiron smiled. "What can I do for you?"

"We have an idea of how to stop the Romans and Greeks from fighting." Annabeth explained. "We were hoping you could help us."

"Anything to prevent a battle."

Annabeth recounted how she followed the Mark of Athena to retrieve the Athena Parthenos and how a Roman had to deliver it to Camp Half-Blood.

"I'm sure you have no time to come all the back to New York," Chiron contemplated. "It sounds to me like a Roman needs to meet up with you and deliver it themself."

"But how?" Jason asked. "We've been traveling for weeks. They'd have to travel extremely fast to catch up with us and how would they even get it back? That statue's huge."

"I could go with the Roman," Nico offered. "That way we could shadow travel it back to camp."

"Taking such a large object that far would require an extreme amount of energy on your part," Chiron pointed out. "You would have to travel short distances with long breaks in between." Chiron ponders the idea for a moment. "It could work."

"We'll get in touch with Reyna and see what she thinks," Annabeth said. "How's camp?"

Chiron sighs heavily. "Things are really stressful right now. The campers are training nonstop for the upcoming battle with the Romans. They're really stressed out about it and the upcoming war with Gaea. The Ares cabin wants to shed Roman blood but other than them we aren't prepared or eager for battle." Chiron pauses, studying Annabeth for a few moments. "Enough about camp, how are you?"

Jason can tell Chiron knows something's going on due to Annabeth's appearance. "Things have been really stressful here too," she responds.

"And how is Percy?" Jason was worried he might ask that. He shared a worried glance with Piper. How could they tell him what happened? As if he didn't already have enough to worry about.

"He's doing well," Jason watches Annabeth force a smile that almost looks real. "He's just catching up on some sleep right now."

Chiron nods and studies the demigods. Jason tried his best to look calm and as if nothing were wrong. "That's good to hear," The old mentor doesn't sound convinced that everything was fine with Percy but he seemed as if he'd decided to let it go.

"Well, I guess I better let you guys go. Please, contact me again soon."

"Of course," Annabeth says sweetly and swipes through the Iris Message.

She sighs heavily and her smile melts away immediately. "I hate lying to him."

"It's okay, Annabeth," Piper reassures. "If we told him the truth, camp would be a mess and they already have enough on their plate right now."

Annabeth pulled out another coin and repeated the Iris Message process, only this time asking for Reyna.

An image of the Roman Praetor appeared. Behind her, Jason could see that it was night and she sat at what must have been a camp they'd set up for the night.

"I was starting to wonder if you'd call," Reyna seemed unsurprised by the Iris Message, as if she'd seen it before even though it wasn't practiced by Roman demigods.

"I know you don't want a battle between camps just as bad us," Annabeth got straight to the point. "We have a plan on how to stop one from happening."

Reyna leaned forward, intrigued. "I'm listening."

Annabeth repeated the plan to Reyna.

"I'll do it," Reyna said when Annabeth finished explaining. "I'll meet you in Epirus and Nico and I will deliver the statue to the Greek camp and put a stop to this battle."

Jason didn't like the idea of Reyna leaving the Romans. "But the Romans need you. You're their leader."

"They'll manage just fine without me for a while. I cannot ask anyone else to go on such a dangerous quest to the Ancient lands. It has to be me."

"Reyna's right," Annabeth agreed. "Wouldn't it be even more effective if a Roman _leader_ returned the statue? There could finally be peace."

"I'll discuss it with the legion and then if I can convince them to agree — which won't be easy — I'll leave on Scipio as soon as possible."

•••

 _Jason stood at the shore of the Little Tiber. On the other side, he could see Camp Jupiter, the place he'd called home for nearly his entire life. He started to cross, but when he got about halfway through he heard a voice call out from behind him._

 _"Jason, where are you going?"_

 _The son of Jupiter turned around and saw Piper standing on Half-Blood Hill. "Come back to camp."_

 _"Don't listen to her, Jason!" He turned around again and saw Reyna standing next to the Little Tiber. "Come home."_

 _"No Jason!" Piper called. "This is your home now. You're one of us."_

 _"Pay no attention to that_ Graeca. _You are a Roman, you were raised here. It's in your blood."_

 _"That stuff doesn't matter. You can still choose us. You're a Greek at heart, Sparky."_

 _Jason started to get frustrated. "What are you guys talking about?"_

"You must choose," _both girls' mouths moved in perfect unison, but Jason only heard one voice and it didn't belong to either of them._

"You cannot remain in middle ground forever. Eventually you will have to pick a side. Are you a Greek or a Roman?"

 _"Why should I have to choose? Can there not be peace between all demigods?"_

"There will never peace. You must choose which side you want to see burn."

 _Suddenly, Camp Jupiter burst into flames. Reyna screamed. "Jason, please, save us!"_

 _He then heard Piper screaming as Camp Half-Blood too erupted into flames. "You're the only one who can save camp!" Piper coughed on the smoke._

 _"_ You must decide, son of Jupiter," he heard Gaea's voice coming from all around him. "Which camp would you rather see burn. Which side do you choose?"

 _Jason screamed in frustration. He couldn't bare to watch either camp be destroyed. Both were his home. Both had people he loved._

Jason woke with a start. He sat straight up in bed and gasped for breath. His heart pounded against his chest and he was covered in sweat. He collapsed back down into his bed, his breathing beginning to normalize.

 _You must decide,_ Gaea's voice echoed in his mind.

Jason shook his head. He needed a shower to clear his mind and some fresh air.

After showering, Jason changed into some clothes and headed out to the deck. The sky was still dark and Jason had to guess it was around five or so in the morning.

He saw Nico with his back to him leaning against the railing and starting ring off somewhere in the distance, as if lost in thought.

"Hey," Jason approached the son of Hades.

"Hey," he mumbled back.

"I can't sleep and I need some fresh air so if you want to go back to sleep I can cover the rest of your watch."

"No that's fine. I can't sleep either. Plus, I like being up here at night."

Jason placed his arms on the railing. "Yeah, it's peaceful."

They stood there in awkward silence. Jason wasn't really sure what to say. He didn't know Nico di Angelo very well and honestly, the kid was kind of creepy. He wondered what had happened to make him so angsty.

"Can I ask you something?" Nico suddenly asked.

"Uh, sure," whatever it was, Nico sounded serious and he wondered why Nico had suddenly decide to open up to a guy he hadn't known that well.

"I guess I could ask Piper since she's more of the expert on these things being a daughter of Aphrodite and all, but I figured since you're her boyfriend you might kind of be too. I just wanted to ask," Nico paused, shook his head, then sighed. "Never mind. Just forget I said anything."

Jason was pretty sure he knew where this conversation was going. He remembered Piper telling him Nico had a crush on Annabeth. "The person you like is already with someone else," he guessed.

Nico blushed. "How did you know?"

"Piper told me. She kind of has a way of knowing these things."

"And she told you?" He sounded genuinely upset.

"Well, yeah."

"Does everyone else know too then?"

"No, I'm pretty sure she only told me."

Nico looked relieved. "Oh thank gods."

"I don't really see why you like her," Jason admitted. "I mean, she's kind of—"

"She?" Nico interrupted.

Jason furrowed his eyebrows. "Of course _she_. What else—" Jason stopped himself mid-sentence. "Oh."

Nico turned bright red.

"Hey, it's okay man," Jason tried to comfort. "I don't care if you like dudes there's nothing wrong with that."

"Who did you think I liked?"

"Piper told me Annabeth. Who do you really like?"

"I'm not telling you," Nico protested.

"If I guess it will you?"

"No."

"Does he go to Camp Half-Blood?"

"We're not doing this," Nico insisted.

"Is he a member of the crew?"

Nico blushed in response.

"Leo?"

Nico wrinkled his nose. "Gods no."

"Percy?"

Nico remained silent.

"Oh my gods! You like Percy! I so ship it!"

"You _what_?"

"Ship it," Jason repeated. "It means I think you two should be together."

Nico crosses his arms. "It'll never happen anyway. He's with Annabeth."

"Does Hazel know?"

Nico shook his head. "I haven't told anyone besides you."

"You should tell her. She's your sister."

"I'll tell her when I'm ready. Promise me you won't tell anyone."

Jason offers him a friendly smile. "I promise."

The sun by now had fully risen and the sky had turned a light blue color. The sea below them was calm and gentle.

"Guys," Piper came up on deck. "Leo's missing."

 **I'm so so sorry you guys! i have been writing this story on Wattpad and then copying and pasting it here too and I forgot I had it up on this site to. Again I'm so sorry but thank you so much for all the love and support.**


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